How the New Ruling on Mental Health Coverage Affects Us All
The rules represent the final implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act, which was signed into law five years ago. Carol McDaid, co-founder of Capitol Decisions, a consulting firm that specializes in substance abuse policy, led a …
Read more on BillMoyers.com

From Drugs To Independence: The Men Of The L.A. Mission
“The men here are open, kind and really enthused about changing their lives,: said drug counselor Tony Monaco. “They're willing to do things they didn't think they could ever do. It's a real privilege working with them.” “You can't just think that …
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by nogger

.5M awarded to help inmates with mental health, addiction problems
Inmates are less likely to re-offend if they are receiving proper treatment, but that doesn't mean the average taxpayer wants to shell out money for drug abuse counseling in addition to medical care already paid by county residents, said Kathy Coate …
Read more on Marion Star

Adderall, the new party drug?
Licensed professional counselor Rhonda Schroeder says abuse of the drug adderall is a on the rise and it's a dangerous trend. Schroeder said, "With people who do not have a diagnosis of ADHD and who are abusing it. They get high off it." Amphetamine …
Read more on KXII-TV

Question by Mz Lopez: What do social workers actually do?
I wanna go to school for psychology but I wanna work more along troubled teenagers or people in need of help like a social worker I guess. not giving medicine.

Best answer:

Answer by Saadia
The investigate cases of child abuse and/or neglect.

Answer by monique
Answer based on U.S.

Social work job duties/responsibilities will depend of course on the job position we have, which as you can see below will definitely vary on the type of work we do.

Social workers can work in various settings, to include administrative jobs. Some individuals with social work degrees, for example, write grants, do research and work on fundraiser in agencies that may be not for proft. Social workers work in health care settings (hospice, home health, hospitals, nursing homes); mental health settings (state department of mental health, residential treatment centers, alcohol/drug rehab, etc); dept of social services (child protective services, foster care, investigator, etc); other state jobs may include probation and parole officers; youth services (to include juvenile facilities, counseling, residential); dept of aging (adult protective services, community support worker); maternal health (education, home visits, etc); and other public health positions. Social workers who have their Masters in Social Work and typically a clinical license can work for the federal government, to include the Veterans Administration as well as a civilian working on military installations.

Other positions may include working as a victim advocate; domestic violence shelters; grass roots organizations (i.e. I saw a job looking for a social worker to work for Mothers Against Drunk Driving); organizations/agencies that provide services for those who are homeless (i.e. Salvation Army, catholic charities).

A good online job search is “Indeed” http://www.indeed.com By searching for position in working with youth, youth at risk, etc. this can give you a sense of the qualifications/job duties.

An example of a job description in working with youth is a youth counseling III position with the state of Colorado. Salary: $ 4,969.00 – $ 7,168.00 Monthly. “This position exists to provide leadership and clinical direction to the treatment team at the facility. In addition, this position is experienced in clinical mental health and family interventions and serves as the Clinical Director to provide oversight for the treatment services at the facility.” Minimum Qualifications “Education Requirements: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science, correctional science, corrections, counseling, counseling psychology, criminal justice, criminology, education, guidance and counseling, helping/human services, human and development, psychology, rehabilitation counseling, social work, sociology or youth and adult corrections.” http://www.colorado.gov/

by Heart Watched

Question by usa_jcrew68: Can you think of some ideas on how we can prevent school shootings?
The VA Tech massacre, the Columbine killings, and countless other school shootings has created fear and paranoia in the our schools and society. We realized since 911 anything devastating can happen at any moment. The VA tech incident (even though it wasnt terrorist related)has created a a higher “awareness” in our society. I think gun control, random drug testing, and mental health testing should be the norm in all institutions.
List some other reasonable ideas that can prevent a shooting like this from occuring again?

Best answer:

Answer by Roadkill
Arm the students and faculty. Banning guns from schools just creates unarmed victims at the mercy of someone who doesn’t obey the gun ban.

Answer by Jordan B
Just like some high schools you can have a metal detector when you enter.

Paradigm Malibu Offers a Wide Range of Treatment Programs for Adolescents
Paradigm Malibu proudly announces their range of services, including drug rehabilitation treatment, mental health help, Internet and gaming addiction programs and programs for teens who like to self harm. Teens face many challenges on a daily basis and …
Read more on PR Web (press release)

Support groups in the area can help with illness, drug problems and many other …
NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: Marion, Va., Survivors Group, Royal Oak Presbyterian Church, 139 W. Main St.; Sunday, open meeting, 8 p.m., open discussion; group meets regularly to help each other recover; open to those addicted to any form of drugs …
Read more on TriCities.com

1 in 6 unemployed are substance abusers
The trends for drug use have held relatively steady for a decade, even in spite of the recession. One would think that as millions of “clean” workers suddenly lost their jobs and joined the unemployment rolls, the rate of drug use among that group …
Read more on New Pittsburgh Courier

Lincoln drug treatment workers, police seeing more addiction woes
“Before the situation was that we would see an older group of people, probably more in their late 30s and 40s, that had mental health [and drug addiction] problems,” Greenleaf said Tuesday. “Now we are seeing people using drugs at a much younger age, …
Read more on Bangor Daily News